Dancing Around Each Other
by kitticat718
Summary: Garcia gets kidnapped by an UNSUB who likes to taunt the team. Are they able to save her in time? Is this enough to force one teammate to realize his feelings?
1. Pictures

**Author Note: **This is my first fanfiction so I hope it's decent ! I have two different perspectives for the beginning of the story. Morgan's is normal font and _Garcia's is underlined and italicized._

**Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters.**

**Enjoy ! =]**

* * *

**Chapter 1-Pictures**

As they all gathered together to begin another case, they noticed it was dark; not physically, but rather their team light was missing from the table. That seemed odd, yet they all assumed she was just running late or something.

Reid mentioned the elephant in the room, "Where's Garcia?"

A murmured "not sure" response came from everyone. Hmm strange.

Just then Maria from reception poked her head in the room, "Here, it's addressed to the BAU," she said while handing them a manila envelope and walking away.

JJ was the one to grab it and open it, expecting some evidence for the case. Suddenly, she screamed and scattered the envelopes' contents all over the table. The team thought no evidence should warrant that response from her and quickly grabbed the photographs. They did not scream but could very easily understand why JJ was now immobile.

Inside the envelope there were pictures of a dark, undistinguishable room. In the middle of the room, their light sat, not shining brightly like usual, but rather dim. She was tied to a chair, head lobbing forward.

Questions filled everyone's mind but nobody seemed to have a voice. JJ's sobs were the only noise they heard.

Finally, Hotch asked, "Okay, what do we know?"

"That someone has my Baby Girl and I'm going to kill them," Morgan said while clenching his teeth with his eyes closed and fists wound tight.

"She's in a room with no noticeable features. She looks injured but alive…" Blake stated with the least amount of attachment but she was still worried.

"Get Kevin Lynch to examine these right away. I want to know _everything_, even the type of wood along the walls," Hotch explained. "Reid, you and I will go search Penelope's house. Rossi and Blake, you check out her usual spots. Morgan, you and JJ, calm down and try to think about where she could've been yesterday. We will find her." He stated, putting his hand on Morgan's shoulder before leaving the room.

Morgan got up and smacked the wall. _Hard_. He knew he should comfort JJ, but he just couldn't right now. If he did, it would be accepting that this was actually happening, that he hadn't protected her enough and kept her safe like he always promised he would.

* * *

Garcia's apartment looked normal from the outside. Once Reid and Hotch walked inside only one thing seemed to be slightly out of the ordinary and they almost didn't realize it. Her phone and purse were placed directly in front of them on the kitchen table neatly, instead of her usual spot on the table right to the left of her doorway. Although this seemed odd, nothing else was askew. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. It seemed as though she was not abducted from inside of her house. They took her purse and phone back to the office to be checked out.

Blake and Rossi found no leads at her usual spots either. Her friends from the theatre did not know anything and had not had practice the day before. Her knitting friends were taking the week off and her support group was planning on meeting tomorrow. As far as they could tell, she did not have regular plans for the day before, if any at all.

A few hours later, JJ had already left the conference room and Morgan was still in the same chair and had only barely calmed down. He had no idea where she could have been yesterday and that was killing him even more. They did not have plans for the day before but he regretted that decision now. He wished they had planned a movie night or a dinner date night. He wished he would have done anything to change this.

He had to get out of this room, had to get far away from the thoughts of that morning. He got into his car and just drove. Before he knew it he arrived at her apartment. Earlier, Hotch had called the team and told them how her purse was the only strange thing in her apartment but Morgan had to make sure for himself. He seemed to know that apartment better than Penelope herself. He took out his key and opened the door. He barely made it inside before he collapsed onto her carpet, and allowed himself to finally weep.

* * *

_Garcia awoke slightly, but still felt drowsy. She was confused; where was she? She looked around through the darkness, trying to figure it out, but she had never seen such a boring looking place. Just far enough away in the darkness, she glimpsed something terrifying: a pair of black shoes._

_And suddenly they were walking towards her, very slowly. What had happened to her? Last thing she remembered was walking down the street and suddenly she felt cold, unfamiliar hands around her waist and mouth. She had hoped it was a nightmare, but it was becoming apparent that it had actually happened._

"_Penelope Garcia," he had stretched her name out so it became creepy. She didn't know why she felt so tired; she had actually slept the night before. As she glimpsed his face, she blacked out with a slight gasp. _

_When she awoke again, she felt stinging all over her body and a dull ache in her head. When she looked down, with droopy eyes, she could see slight blood trails all across her skin. She could see the shackles bounding her to this chair that just so happened to be bolted to the ground; she found that out by trying to buck it over and it hadn't budged. She barely had the strength to lift her head and try to look around at where she was. Again, she could barely see anything. There were no windows and no lights, but she could see a table a few feet out of her reach. She gasped when she glimpsed what was on that table…_

_All she could make out looked like hell on Earth: a gun and a sharp looking knife. She was sure there were other weapons but anything else on the table was too far away to see in the dark room. But those two things had scared her half to death; and with that fear, she blacked out once more._


	2. The Dance

**Author Note: **Thanks for the support everyone ! =]

And bubblesnbrooms thank you for the suggestion ! I changed it so Garcia's POV is just italicized now so that it's easier to read.

Now enjoy ! =]

* * *

"Derek! Hi!" Fran exclaimed.

"Penelope's missing," he said frankly.

A loud gasp was heard before, "Oh dear! What happened?!" His mother began frantically. He spoke about her so much that she viewed Penelope as one of her own children, even though they technically had never met face to face.

As Derek explained the situation, he managed to keep his emotions mostly in check. Until…

"Honey your Baby Girl will soon be back in your arms. Don't worry."

That's when Derek couldn't hide his pain anymore. "Mom, what do I do? I can't live without her." He managed between his sobs. He hadn't cried to his mom in years but he just couldn't do this without her strength.

"She is going to be fine; she's a fighter Derek. Think about it, she's the only girl who has had no fear about standing up to you and any consequences that may bring. But just remember, when she does get home, second chances are rare, but third chances are almost unheard of. Don't forget to tell her what you feel; and more importantly, show her how you feel. I love you Derek and I'm here praying for your Baby Girl."

And that's what it all clicked into place. **When** they found Garcia he was going to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again. He was going to protect her entirety, but most importantly protect her heart, just like she had always made sure his was safe.

* * *

The next morning, the entire team looked like hell. No one got much sleep and if they got any, they dreamt about those pictures. They each ran through it in their heads trying to figure out what they knew. When they gathered the next day it didn't seem like anyone got very far.

Reid had to ask though, "How is Kevin holding up with all of this?" Nobody had seen him but everyone knew he was on the case. They had been together for three years; he had to be a wreck.

"Uhm, he isn't terrible. They kinda weren't together anymore..." JJ spoke, while everyone besides Hotch gave her quizzical looks. "They ended it last week. It was mutual."

"Why hadn't she told us?" Reid questioned.

"She didn't want to deal with questions. Ending a three year long relationship shouldn't be as easy as we just don't work together. They both decided they were staying together out of comfort not out of love." JJ knew the whole story and felt bad that she was the one having to explain it to the team.

Morgan just sat there, trying to take in what he just heard. How come his Baby Girl hadn't told him? Although he was happy for her for being strong enough to finally end it, and now he had more of a chance, they had hung out since she ended it and she never mentioned anything had happened.

Just then, Kevin walked in to inform the team that he couldn't find anything useful from the pictures. He had zoomed and edited them all night long but there were no clues as to where she was. For all the team knew, she could have been in another state by now.

Just then Maria was back with a smaller envelope this time. She nervously handed it to Hotch, knowing what had happened yesterday when she was last in the conference room.

Inside the envelope was a single note. It said **_You Have 2 Days Left_**. Attached to the note was a single lock of hair.

Immediately the team ran through what they knew. She had been missing for two days. Her phone concluded nothing along with her purse. None of her friends had expected to see her the day she was taken. She was tied up in a room with wood paneled walls. She was alive. She was alive. She was alive. But that might be different in two days.

* * *

Garcia:

_Penelope awoke with a jolt from a nightmare where she was being held in a dark room, "Ahhhh!" But sadly when she tried to jerk upwards, the shackles held her firmly in place and when her eyes opened she could quickly tell it was real life and not just a nightmare. And with that, the tears strolled down her face._

_What was she to do? Where was she? Did her team know yet? Did they even have anything to go on? What were they doing right then? Why was she still stuck here?_

_And then she got angry with herself. Her team was most certainly doing everything in their power to find her and she couldn't believe she could ever have questioned that. She knew they were all probably not getting much sleep and if they were it would be restless. She knew that they were probably worried sick. She knew JJ was probably not eating much and was constantly sad. And then it hit her; Derek. He must be freaking out and blaming himself, even though it had nothing to do with him. Oh no, she needed to comfort him, make him calm down. She knew that when he worried he usually did insensible things. She needed to get back to her team, back to her family. She needed to-_

_A door suddenly opened and Garcia gasped slightly. The part of the face she could see was faintly familiar yet she couldn't quite place it. _

_"Remember me?" he asked her. _

_"You look familiar..." Penelope started saying, racking her brain on where she knew him from._

_He stepped a little closer to her and said, "That night we danced together, you don't remember that moment?"_

_Wait, they had danced-? WAIT. She did remember him. They had met at a bar one night when she was out with a friend. They danced and she thought it ended at that. But now she was tied up in a room all because she danced with someone? She was never going to a bar again. No way._

_"Ah, I see you remember it well now. I wished it hadn't ended that night. We have so much in common. I've been watching you Penelope. You are quite the busy bee with all your extra-curricular activities. I never thought I would get you alone long enough to have you and bring you here," he said with visible sadness, "But that night it was too perfect to pass up. You were going to be mine and here you are. All to myself!"_

_"Why have you hurt me then? Why am I tied up in this chair?" Penelope breathed out._

_"Because I don't trust you to stay yet. You still care too much about your team instead of me. You need to get over them in order to love me the way I love you," he said as her eyes widened further, "I'll be back later, my love."_

_What was going on? How could one dance lead to all of this? He wasn't going to let her go until she loved him? Well damn it looked as though she would never get out of here. She did not think she was capable of becoming a victim of Stockholm-Syndrome. _


	3. Teammates

**Author's Note: **I apologize if this gets redundant, it's hard to do both POV's without repeating the exact same information =/

* * *

The next day the team came into the conference room expecting a clue. It seemed to be a daily occurrence for the kidnapper to send them something. Again Maria was the bearer of bad news and mail. Today it was a small box. When opened, the box contained a tape recorder. Hotch pressed play.

_"Tell me about your team," the kidnapper calmly said, with an obviously altered voice._

_"My t-team? What a-a-about them?" Penelope said sounding very out of it._

_"What do you think about Aaron Hotchner?"_

_"Hotch? He's the family leader. He keeps us grounded and keeps us going no matter the case. He's an amazing dad to Jack and to all of our team. He's our strength and I hope we can help him with any struggles he faces. I just want him to find happiness again," she spoke slowly and slightly slurred her speech._

_"Agent Rossi?" the kidnapper was very calm._

_"Rossi is our father figure and my role model. He's the closest thing I have to a father right now. I am so thankful that he came back to the BAU. He's also such a jokester and he just makes me so happy."_

_"What about Agent Jareau?"_

_"J-JJ?," they heard her stutter, "JJ is the best friend that anyone can ask for and I am lucky to have her as mine. She's so strong and will always be there for me. I've always needed someone to keep my head up, and she is certainly an answer to a prayer. I love and miss my best friend so much," they could hear her voice almost break._

_"Spencer Reid?"_

_"Reid. My Boy Wonder. My little brother. He always makes me smile and laugh with his unnecessary facts that truly are enjoyed. He is so genuine and such a good person overall. He, too, deserves all of the happiness in the world."_

_"And Derek. Morgan?" they heard him say it slowly, making it mean more._

_"Derek," they heard a deep sigh, "He is the person I know will always be there for me. He knows more about me than I know about myself. He is more than my best friend; he is __**my**__ God-Given Solace," Derek just closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he heard her sob._

_There was another long pause before, "Well, that is all very nice…" the kidnapper was cut off._

_"My family will come for me! They will find me! They are all I have…" Penelope yelled at her kidnapper. _

_"I am not so sure about that….you may want to say your goodbye to your team…" A shuffling of feet was heard on the tape recorder._

_"No. Please. No. Don't. Ahh-"_ Then the recorder went silent. The team was all paralyzed at what they had just heard.

They rushed the tape to Kevin, hoping to get a clean sound clip of the kidnapper's voice. But, "His voice was altered through at least 3 different techniques. I can't get a clean sound of his voice from the tape recorder," Kevin said sadly.

* * *

**Garcia:**

_Later that day, her kidnapper came back in. She heard a click and looked up at him. She felt extra groggy at that moment._

_"Tell me about your team," she heard him say calmly._

_"My t-team? What a-a-about them?" Penelope responded, hearing herself sound odd._

_"What do you think about Aaron Hotchner?" She wasn't sure where this was going..._

_"Hotch? He's the family leader. He keeps us grounded and keeps us going no matter the case. He's an amazing dad to Jack and to all of our team. He's our strength and I hope we can help him with any struggles he faces. I just want him to find happiness again," she spoke slowly to make her speech come out as straight as possible._

_"Agent Rossi?" he said, almost too calm._

_"Rossi is our father figure and my role model. He's the closest thing I have to a father right now. I am so thankful that he came back to the BAU. He's also such a jokester and he just makes me so happy," she said thinking about her family. Why was he asking about them? How did he even know their names?_

_"What about Agent Jareau?"_

_"J-JJ?" she choked on the words. "JJ is the best friend that anyone can ask for and I am lucky to have her as mine. She's so strong and will always be there for me. I've always needed someone to keep my head up, and she is certainly an answer to a prayer. I love and miss my best friend so much," she said trying to keep her composure together._

_"Spencer Reid?" he said as if he were asking her about the weather today._

_"Reid. My Boy Wonder. My little brother. He always makes me smile and laugh with his unnecessary facts that truly are enjoyed. He is so genuine and such a good person overall. He, too, deserves all of the happiness in the world," man, did she miss her little brother._

_"And Derek. Morgan?" he enunciated each name just enough to make her heart stop shortly._

_"Derek," she paused for a moment before deeply sighing, "He is the person I know will always be there for me. He knows more about me than I know about myself. He is more than my best friend; he is __**my**__ God-Given Solace," she was able to say before a sob overtook her. _

_There was another long pause before, "Well, that is all very nice…" but she cut him off._

_"My family will come for me! They will find me! They are all I have…" Penelope bravely yelled before the last statement nearly destroyed her courage. _

_"I am not so sure about that….you may want to say your goodbye to your team…" he said while rushing towards her._

_"No. Please. No. Don't. Ahh-" she heard a click and suddenly her side was writhing with pain and her life went black._


	4. Time's Up

**Author Note:** These next two chapters are short so I will be posting two today =] also as a day after Christmas present hah.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4-Time's Up**

These past few days dragged on as the team just watched the clock count down the minutes they had left of their time threat. The team got little sleep and even less leads on this case. They didn't understand why they were given a deadline with no evidence. It seemed as though the UNSUB wanted them to find Garcia and yet he had left nothing distinguishable behind.

They felt defeated. Everyone was apprehensive when they walked into the conference room the next day. They had hoped the UNSUB was making an empty threat and that they still had more time.

That day, when the team walked into the conference room there was another box waiting for them. Maria had already dropped it off not wanting to see the defeated looks on their faces once again. This box contained another tape recorder.

After everyone was sitting, Hotch nervously took it and pressed play.

A long pause before, "Time's up," was spoken bluntly into the tape recorder, almost teasingly. The team gasped as they heard the click of a loaded gun, a sound they all knew well.

"AHHHHHHHHH! Help!" before a loud gunshot, another all too familiar sound. Everyone around the table had their eyes closed tightly fighting back the burning they could feel. They couldn't believe it. It just could not be true.

* * *

_Garcia:_

_Penelope heard another click and woke up. She refused to look up at him and give him that satisfaction. She then heard him firmly say, "Time's up," and she knew he was smirking. As she heard the click of a gun Penelope forced herself to look up and she gasped before closing her eyes and screaming, "AHHHHHHHHH! Help!" *BANG* She held her breath but didn't feel any pain. Last time she got shot, she felt some pain, so why didn't she this time? She opened her eyes and saw him pointing the gun at the ceiling while staring at her. _

_She couldn't understand and she was sick of this. Penelope decided to try another tactic...She tried to take back any portion of control that she could have, "You really think I would ever have been interested in you? I could, and do have so much better than you will ever be. There was no hope for us ever becoming anything." _

_A second later she was teary eyed and writhing in pain from his reaction. She would have cupped her head if her hands were not tied down. He had hauled off and whacked her with the butt of the gun. Extremely hard. She decided that tactic was a worse choice than just being compliant and hoping he had plans of releasing her instead of taking advantage until he was done with her._


	5. Light

**Author Note:** Coming up with a way to find the UNSUB was the hardest part of this story for me. Just kind of go with it hahah =p Hopefully it kind of makes sense.

Merry day after Christmas ! =]

* * *

**Chapter 5-Light**

The rest of the day went by unnoticed. Nobody was truly present there at the office. Everyone was in their own world where none of this happened, where Penelope was just down the hallway in her office in some vibrantly colored outfit and most likely click-click-clicking away on her 'babies'.

But in _his_ own world, Hotch finally realized something. He called the rest of the zombie-like team in and pulled out his cell phone and put it on speaker, "Kevin, how many people in Virginia have bought tape recorders this month?" he questioned.

"Three," Kevin responded.

"And how many of those people bought two?" Reid asked.

"Uhmmmm one, Martin Reer! I sent you the address!" Kevin exclaimed.

"Let's go," before Hotch could even get the words out of his mouth everyone was out of their chairs heading towards the door.

* * *

_Garcia:_

_Penelope found herself thinking about her team. She missed them so much. She had never gone this long without speaking to them. Even on a long case they still spoke daily, and on vacations they would text to check up on each other. This was torture, physically and mentally. She needed the comfort that her team brought to her. She needed them, right now. She got teary eyed thinking about the last moment she spent with each of them the day before she was kidnapped. She hoped that wasn't the last time she would see each of them._

_Suddenly, Reer came back in frantically, swinging the door wide open. Penelope immediately snapped back to reality and panicked and gasped. Reer started pacing right in front of her swinging the gun around on his finger. Once he placed the gun back on the table and picked up his knife he told her, "I'm going to kill you once for each member of your stupid team. Goodbye Penelope."_

_He thrust the knife into her side, "JJ!" She screamed in pain and he slammed it again right above that mark, "Derek!" And with the pain from both of those stabbings, Penelope passed out and didn't witness the other stabbings that would ultimately end her life, or so she thought. Instead all she saw was her Hot Stuff standing there before her, holding out his hand to take hers and lead her towards the light._


	6. Woods

**Author's Note: **In response to the reviews about my direction of this story, I have a few reasons why the UNSUB ended up hurting Penelope even though he wanted her love. First, my muse took me there and I followed it. Second, I think the UNSUB realized that no matter what, even after faking her death to the team, they would still look for her and do everything they could to find her. Third, I think the UNSUB became so angered by the connection the team had to Penelope that he did not, and therefore he took out his anger out on the only person he had around, Penelope. I'm sorry if this isn't the direction any of you wanted the story to take, but this is just where I was led by my muse. I hope you can all still enjoy this direction !

Oh and PS I have no idea if any of the medical information in this story truly makes sense but hopefully it's close enough that you can overlook it ? Maybe ? =]

* * *

**Chapter 6-Woods**

The drive there seemed to take way longer than it should have. Once they arrived they realized they were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods. They encompassed the house as Morgan yelled at the door, "Martin Reer! FBI!" Before breaking down the door ferociously and running inside to hopefully find his Baby Girl.

"The rug is missing!" JJ exclaimed while pointing at the obvious void on the dusty floor. Derek groaned, that couldn't be a good sign.

They searched the entire house. Eventually Derek came across a dark, empty room and realized it was the one that had held Garcia. He almost doubled over at the amount of blood on the floor, praying for the best.

Soon after everyone was standing behind Derek, trying to take in what they saw. "The house is clear," Hotch told them all.

Derek pushed past them all, "She must be in the woods!" and he raced out of the house. He ran as fast as he possibly could, fueled by fear. He was running for what felt like hours before he finally saw something in the distance.

When he approached, he could see his Baby Girl lying in the partly opened rug. Her arm was outreached away from him.

"Baby Girl!" He placed a hand over one of her wounds that were bleeding profusely, trying to stop it. He reached his other hand up to feel for a pulse along her neck; he could feel an extremely faint thud. "I need a medic!" He screamed for the second time in his life. He took the hand that had felt her pulse and grabbed hold on her hand. He noticed how many cuts she had all over her body, "Where's my medic?!"

Finally, Penelope was being loaded into an awaiting ambulance. Derek wanted so badly to go with her in the ambulance but due to the extent of her injuries, the paramedics wouldn't let him. He instead sped right behind the ambulance the whole time with JJ riding shotgun. Neither of them said anything but both were praying for the best and not able to expect the worst.

* * *

The next few hours were unbearable. Derek found himself once again faced with the agonizing fear that would tear his entire world apart. He wound up pacing back and forth over a mile in the small waiting room.

No matter how bright the hospital lights were, they seemed dim to the team, knowing their light was barely hanging on. In this situation, they weren't sure if no news was truly good news or not.

Derek, once again, found himself needing faith. It had helped last time, or so he believed anyway. He went to the chapel and released the burning behind his eyes.

There was still no word once he had returned, so he sat and waited. Finally, agonizing hours later, the doctor, Dr. Lewis, emerged with a blank face. "She's alive but barely. Now, I'm going to be frank with you. She's technically already died once but we managed to bring her back. She has swelling in her brain due to the lack of oxygen and the blunt force trauma that occurred. Right now, we have put her in an induced coma. She's not out of the woods at all. She-"

"Doctor! We need you!" a frantic nurse exclaimed.

"Excuse me," the doctor said before he power-walked away.

"She's bleeding again and her pulse has dropped…" were the last words Derek heard before he fainted.

When he awoke minutes later, Emily was holding an ice pack on the back of his head. "What?-" was all he said.

"JJ called me when you found her. I got here as soon as I could…"

Derek couldn't tell if he should be happy she was there or more worried for his Baby Girl. A nurse came out to check on him. "You hit your head pretty hard. How does it feel?"

"Fine," Derek seethed, "How is _she_?"

The nurse gave him a blank, unreadable stare. "The doctor will be out soon to fill you in." And with that she stood up and left.

A few agonizing minutes later, Dr. Lewis had returned, "As I was saying, she doesn't look good. The damage inflicted to her over the past few days has been brutal. She has over twenty stab wounds, some of which should have been fatal as standalone wounds. She also has a concussion and some broken ribs. She's a strong girl you have on your team and hopefully her strength will bring her through this," Dr. Lewis said, finally looking up at the team.

"What's her prognosis?" Hotch piped up.

"Right now, she has about a 50/50 survival rate. _If_ she makes it through the night, we will do another cat scan tomorrow to check on the swelling. It needs to reduce significantly before we pull her out of a coma." With that, he turned and left them standing there in shock. They were all frozen with fear.

**_IF_** she survived? They couldn't fathom the BAU without her spirit, let alone their lives. Their suddenly dimmer lives.

When Derek was brought back down to Earth, he heard the rest of the team discussing what to do.

"We should all come back in the morning after some rest," Hotch suggested.

"I need a shower too," Reid said.

"I need one of my Henry hugs," JJ said with a sigh.

"Think I can get one of those hugs too?" Emily asked because she was staying at JJs.

"I can make us all some breakfast in the morning," Dave, the chef, offered.

All eyes landed on Derek waiting for his point of view on this whole ordeal. "I am staying right here in this chair until I am allowed to see her. And then I will be staying right in the chair next to her bed until she is allowed home. At which time I would be staying on her couch until she kicks me out."

"She's in a coma, you should at least go home and grab fresh clothes and a shower," Blake tried.

After a few moments, Derek grudgingly agreed and rushed home. He was back at the hospital in about an hour. In that time, Penelope's heart had stopped once again.


	7. Goodbye?

**Author Note: **Happy New Year ! =] Also, the italics in this episode are a flashback.

* * *

**Chapter 7-Goodbye?**

When Derek exited the elevator on the ICU floor, he saw something that made his heart and stomach flop onto the floor: Hotch. He was standing there with a deeply saddened face. "She coded once more. They're working on her now. I got the phone call while I was driving and came back immediately," Hotch admitted. Derek slumped back into his "bed" aka chair, and put his head in his hands.

After many more minutes of waiting, the nurse from earlier in the night came out to talk to them. They both stood and walked anxiously over to her, "She's okay; this time. She sure is a lucky and strong girl."

As the nurse started to walk away Derek got the courage to ask the burning question, "Can we please see her? To say our goodb-b-by…."

"To assure her we are here for her," Hotch needed to change the aim of that question. He was not going to say good-bye, she was going to get better and was going to come home. He was sure of it.

The nurse let out a long sigh before saying, "Very quickly." She said it with a sympathetic look. Derek and Hotch prepared themselves while the nurse warned them, "She is not in good shape. Do not expect to see the girl you are used to seeing. She is barely hanging on…"

Derek gasped as the walls around him seemed to crush him, at the sight of her. His Baby Girl in the drab hospital gown, for a second time. He was hoping this could turn out just like last time, but the sight of her changed that hope to fear: fear of his entire world being ripped away from him. He quickly walked over to her side and took hold of her hand. As he was rubbing her hand he could feel the cuts all over it again. He leaned forward and melded his lips to her forehead gently.

He muttered sadly, "Baby Girl," as he backed away to really look at her. All the tubes and machines were suddenly forgotten, he just wanted to see her smiling and bubbly again.

Silent tears started rolling down his cheeks as Hotch stood behind him with a hand on Morgan's shoulder. Hotch leaned forward and patted their merged hands and said, "Penelope, we miss you, please come home to us soon." They both just stared at her, wishing her to move.

Before they knew it, the nurse was escorting them back to the private waiting room. There, unlike ever before, Hotch and Derek united in a much needed hug. Hotch held Derek, whose legs seemed too weak to do it himself, up. Derek released the tears without holding back this time. He was never one who cried in front of anyone but right now he needed the support, both physical and emotional from his team leader. Hotch just held on while he too cried pent up tears. He was the leader; he needed to remain strong, but after seeing her comatose and the desperation in Derek's eyes, he didn't care at that moment.

* * *

Derek spent all night tossing and turning. The hospital chairs were not comfortable but that wasn't what was keeping him up, his mind was doing that. At about 4AM he gave up trying and went for a walk around the hallways. When he got back to the waiting room he sat down and waited for Hotch to start stirring awake.

Before he knew it the entire team was back, all complaining about how restless they were last night. Hotch went to find a nurse to speak to them while Rossi handed out the coffee that he had brought for them all.

The nurse informed them that there had been no real change, good or bad. The swelling was still evident so she had to stay in a coma. They might be able to see her tomorrow the nurse said, giving Hotch and Morgan a sly look. With that, she walked away.

The team decided they needed to get back to the office to try to solve the case and that they would be back tomorrow to see Garcia, after all, Martin Reer was still on the loose. They all said their goodbyes and walked to the elevator, leaving Hotch and Morgan still standing in the waiting room.

"I assume you're not coming back to the office yet, right?" Hotch questioned although he already knew the answer.

"I want to catch the son of a bitch who did this to her but I can't leave her, especially after last night," Morgan stated bleakly, staring at the floor, fists clenched.

"I understand. I'll send you the information and you can try to help us from here," Hotch left it at that and a pat on his shoulder.

Morgan spent that day trying to come up with anything he could for the case, yet his mind kept drifting off to the happier times he spent with Penelope, like their movie nights where they would snuggle on the couch and eat popcorn until their stomachs hurt.

_"I am never eating popcorn again…" she stated with a groan while holding her stomach._

_"You say that every time," Morgan chuckled._

_"I really mean it this time. Owwww…" Penelope mumbled._

_"Here, take a lil nap," he said holding his arms out so she could cuddle further into his arms. She gladly accepted laying down further. She was laying in between his legs and her back was against his rock-hard chest._

_And with the warmth surrounding her, she fell asleep right after she felt him kiss the top of her head._

Relishing in that memory Morgan didn't notice Dr. Lewis walking over to him. He looked up when the doctor said, "Agent Morgan?"

He immediately stood up with worry before the doctor reassured him, "She can finally be classified as stable. We don't expect her to code again." Morgan couldn't help but feel a weight off his shoulders. "She isn't out of the woods yet but she's on the way to getting better. She still has swelling and there is still a chance of infection in her wounds, but we are hopeful."

"Thank you Doctor," Morgan said extending his hand. After a quick shake, Dr. Lewis was needed and Morgan called the first person who came to his mind, "Momma…"


	8. Confessions

**Author Note: **Sorry this took so long, I've had a migraine for the past 5 days =[ Also I apologize that this chapter might be redundant again. I don't know how to get both perspectives without repeating the same information =/

Hopefully you still enjoy !

* * *

**Chapter 8-Confessions**

The next morning the team was there again, bright and early. Dr. Lewis joined them and told them the swelling had gone down but they were going to keep her in the coma until it had greatly reduced its size. But they were able to see her now that she was at least stable. They went in two at a time.

The team assumed Derek would want to go first but he surprised them saying he wanted to be the last one in, after all then he could spend the most amount of time with her and not have to rush. Heck, if it were up to him, he would never leave her side again.

JJ and Emily went first, clutching onto each other for support as they went into the hospital room where their best friend lay comatose. They each ran over to grab a hand on each side of her body. They could see the tops of some of the cuts on her chest. They tried to ignore the tubes and machines that were keeping their best friend alive, but it was hard to. They couldn't forget that she was in the hospital for no reason as far as they could find. "Penelope, we miss you and your happiness. You are the light of this team. Wake up soon please," JJ and Emily both whispered, finishing each other's sentences.

Reid and Blake went to visit Penelope next. Blake stood back allowing Reid the moment he deserved. Here was his sister laying in the hospital all because Martin Reer decided to take her and torture her. He grabbed hold of her hand as he felt tears burn into his eyes. He couldn't help but glance at her medical notes, out of curiosity and also to slightly distract himself from why he was there. He read over the notes quickly and squeezed her hand while whispering, "Nobody deserves this but you are the least deserving of us all. Please get better Penelope, I miss you so much," the last sentence barely audible. Blake came a little closer and patted their jointed hands, "Get better soon Garcia."

As Rossi and Hotch entered the room they each grabbed onto a hand. "Our glue has been missing far too long. We need our little tech-kitten back," Rossi said with visible emotion. Hotch gave her hand a squeeze and once again said, "Come home Penelope, come home." They stood there relishing in the sight of her before they too gave her a last look and squeeze and walked out.

In the waiting room, everyone had trouble holding themselves together. JJ and Emily were sitting next to each other holding hands, just staring down at the floor. When Reid walked out, Derek was there for the youngest team member. He embraced Reid into a hug while the youngster let the burning in his eyes finally subside. When Rossi and Hotch came back, Derek handed Reid to the older team members so that he could finally see his Baby Girl.

Derek breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. She still did not look like her normal self, but he knew she was doing better and that's all he hoped for right now. He immediately took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it, "Baby Girl, I miss you so much. My life is so bleak without you. I can't wait to hear your laugh again or feel you in my arms again or just see you smile again. I know I broke my promise twice now; I have not done a good job of keeping you safe, but I won't let anything happen to you **ever** again. I just love y-you Penelope. I love you and I can't wait until you wake up. Please come home to me Baby Girl, I need you. I-," and with those emotional words, he felt it and gasped.

Not only did he feel all his emotions come flooding into him at once, but he felt a slight squeeze. Could it have been all in his mind or did his Baby Girl just squeeze his hand back? He wasn't sure if he would ever know, but he was going to go with the happier option. His thousand watt smile finally graced his face once again, and even from a comatose state, only his Baby Girl could put it there.

He kissed her forehead and the back of her hand once more before he left the room. As he walked back to the waiting room the others could just see him staring incredulously down at his hand. "Derek?" Reid questioned.

"I felt a squeeze…" Derek replied in a whisper. The others just stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm not 100% sure that it actually happened but in my mind, it did," he said, finally looking up at his team, with his smile plastered all over his face.

Just the fact that he wasn't so solemn anymore made the entire team feel slightly better. It seemed like this nightmare would soon be over, or so they now had renewed hope.

Suddenly Hotch's phone began to ring, "Hotchner."

"It turns out that Martin Reer had a warning placed on his computer. When we came up with his name, it alerted him and it looks like that's when he freaked out and hurt Penny and took off," Hotch put his phone on speaker then, "He has no other properties under his name so I wasn't sure exactly where he went. His phone has been off for the past few days but it was turned on for about 5 minutes today. I got a trace on it…" The team listened intently to the two cell towers closest to Reer's cell location that Kevin had rattled off. Hotch shut his phone and turned towards his team that once again were almost out the door.

Derek was still standing there, "You get that son of a bitch. And give him an extra shove for me," Hotch nodded and walked out after his team. Derek slumped back into his chair and waited to hear any news. He was awoken to his phone ringing, "Morgan."

"We got him," Derek felt the world right itself again. The bastard that thought he could take away his Baby Girl was in custody and going to pay for what he had done to her.

* * *

_Garcia:_

_"Penelope, we miss you and your happiness. You are the light of this team. Wake up soon please." Internally she was struggling with hearing the pain in her best friends' voices. She tried so hard to wake up at that moment but she was pulled back down into the darkness._

_"Nobody deserves this but you are the least deserving of us all. Please get better Penelope, I miss you so much." Oh, her Boy Wonder! What would it take for her to wake up? What did she need to do?_

_"Get better soon Garcia." Thank you Blake, she thought. She knew they didn't yet have an attachment but the fact that Blake still cared and was there for her family and for her had touched Penelope._

_"Our glue has been missing far too long. We need our little tech-kitten back." Rossi! Oh, she had never heard him sound so sad. She needed to hug him and make a silly joke and make him smile again._

_"Come home Penelope, come home." The words sounded eerily familiar yet she couldn't quite place it. But she felt the hurt in Hotch's voice at that moment. She didn't want to cause any of her family pain, but she couldn't wake up no matter how hard she tried._

_"Baby Girl, I miss you so much. My life is so bleak without you. I can't wait to hear your laugh again or feel you in my arms again or just see you smile again. I know I broke my promise twice now; I have not done a good job of keeping you safe, but I won't let anything happen to you __**ever**__ again. I just love y-you Penelope. I love you and I can't wait until you wake up. Please come home to me Baby Girl, I need you. I-" _

_She couldn't take it anymore. Why wouldn't her eyes open? Why couldn't she just wake up? She could hear everything they said and she just wanted to hold them all close and make sure they were okay. She was their Mama Bear after all and she needed to be there for them and to stop causing them any pain._

_She tried with all of her might to give Derek a sign. He had just poured his heart out to her, even if she was unconscious, and she had to show him that she felt the same way. If she couldn't wake up she was going to give him a sign some other way. She gave everything she had and heard him gasp. She wasn't sure if he felt it but she had hoped so._


	9. Routine

**Author Note: **I just wanted to say thank you for all the support =] Also, sorry this chapter is a little short ! But I still hope you enjoy it and the next one will be up within a few days !

* * *

**Chapter 9-Routine**

The next few days were redundant. Derek would wake up and grab some coffee from the cafeteria. Then he would wait until he was allowed to see his Baby Girl. He would visit with her and tell her anything that had happened to him or the team or his family. Derek would remind her of times they spent together, either just them two or the entire team together. He would fill her in about the weather and about anything in general really. After the time was over, he would go and sit in the waiting room and wait for a phone call from Hotch, to tell him what they had learned about the case and if they needed him to do anything.

* * *

_Garcia:_

_Penelope loved her daily visits with Derek, except they were too short. He would fill her in about anything he could think of, including memories. She loved when he brought up memories of them. _

_Her favorite that he had mentioned had been one weekend where the team met up for a picnic at the park. JJ had brought Henry and Hotch had brought Jack, so Godmother Penelope was in full force to make sure they had the time of their lives. Derek had played right along with the young boys, kicking balls around with them or putting them on his shoulders. _

_To see him just let go and basically act like a kid himself made Penelope elated. She knew how hard his childhood had been, well as much as he had told her, and she wished more than anything that that hadn't happened to him and that he could have had the best childhood possible._

_Reliving these memories with Derek were her favorite part of the day. She hated the fact that she was still unconscious and yet she could hear everything going on around her. She just wanted to open her eyes so that she wouldn't hear the sadness and tiredness in Derek's voice. She wanted him to be able to go home and actually get a goodnights sleep and not have to stay in the hospital all the time. Yet no matter what she tried, her body would not let her wake up. _

_All this time unconscious though had made her evaluate all of the relationships in her life. She had known that her team cared for her but she wasn't sure if she realized it was this much. Every time they visited she could hear the desperation in their voices, they just wanted her back. She couldn't wait to wake up and give them each a well deserved hug and make sure they realized how much she loves them right back._

_She also thought a lot about Derek. He had said that he loves her. He did that the time she was shot as well, but this time felt different. She was sure he had meant it both times but this time seemed to be in a different way. She had felt so good when he had said it but she wanted to hear him say that to her when she wakes up. She wanted to make sure that he isn't just saying it because she is hurt again. She wanted him to love her even when she is perfectly healthy._

* * *

Across town, the team was at the office trying to figure out everything that they could about the case. So far they concluded that Reer had been stalking Penelope for a while, but they weren't sure when it started or why it had begun. Reer, himself, was not saying much besides "Go to hell." The team realized that Reer had not only used a knife to threaten and torture Penelope, but he had also whacked her quite hard across her head and ribs with the butt of the gun. They had found a strand of her hair on the butt of the gun and so they concluded that was the cause of the head trauma. They weren't sure exactly what she had said or done to warrant that type of response but they were happy that the severity of violence had seemed to end with that, well until the end at least. The team had concluded that after Reer had taken Penelope, he had gone back to her house and returned her purse and phone. Although he was a stalker, he had never been inside of her house and he had no idea of her routines. He just placed them in front of him instead of her usual spot. Even with him not saying anything they were able to charge him and put him away, unable to ever go anywhere near Garcia or any of the team ever again.


	10. New Living Arrangements

**Author Note: **Thanks for all the support guys ! =]

* * *

**Chapter 10-New Living Arrangements**

About a week after she was found and emitted into the hospital, Derek was finally able to call the couch in her room his new home, instead of the waiting room. The swelling in her brain had gone down enough that they took her out of the induced coma, and now they just had to wait until she woke up on her own.

"Hey Baby Girl, I am now living in your hospital room," Derek filled her in, with a little smirk. "It's not the comfiest bed in the world but I'm closer to you and that is all that matters to me. I miss you incredibly. I always knew you were my strength but I didn't realize how hard it is without your smile in my life. I want to keep you safe and be there for you as you are always there for me. I need you to wake up, baby. I need to see those bright eyes that light up my world and I need to hold you close to me again. I really miss everything about you," he said ending with a kiss on the top of her head. That night, he fell asleep holding onto to her hand.

The next day started off as everyday for the last week had: uneventful. Derek had grabbed some coffee and sat next to her bed. He spoke to her, telling her that he had read some good books in the time he spent in the hospital and reading her excerpts from the books that he thought she would like. He never had time to read anymore with this job and he found it a good getaway from what had happened to her. He would rather have not found a love for books if it meant this not having happened to her, but he would take what he could get.

After lunch, he sat down again to talk to her. At some point in the silence, Derek had fallen asleep with his head on her stomach and his hand clenching hers. He was having a dream that he was laying down on his couch with Penelope and she was stroking his head. In his dream he had fallen asleep and she was trying to wake him up in the softest of ways, "Derek, sweetheart, wake up, I missed you." Wait why did she miss him? He had only fallen asleep, he was still right there laying with her. All of the sudden the sensation he was feeling on top of his head was almost unbearable. It felt so reassuring, like everything wrong in his life was righted; it felt so real that he awoke from it and lifted his head from her stomach. And when he did, he found tears in his eyes.

* * *

_Garcia:_

_"Hey Baby Girl, I am now living in your hospital room," She could tell he was smirking when he said that and she internally smiled. "It's not the comfiest bed in the world but I'm closer to you and that is all that matters to me. I miss you incredibly. I always knew you were my strength but I didn't realize how hard it is without your smile in my life. I want to keep you safe and be there for you as you are always there for me. I need you to wake up, baby. I need to see those bright eyes that light up my world and I need to hold you close to me again. I really miss everything about you," she felt a kiss on the top of her head._

_Hearing him this emotional and her not being able to wake up was going to be the death of her. She just wanted to reach out and take him into her arms to comfort him. She was sure he was in agony over this whole situation and she just wanted it to be over so he could smile again. She never wanted her Hot Stuff to be in any form of pain, especially when she was the reason for it. She would wake up soon if it took everything in her to do it. She loved falling asleep with their hands intertwined and hoped they would never be separated again._

_The next day, Derek told her a story about Chicago and a family get together that had happened years earlier. She had internally been so happy just hearing about a good memory from Chicago. Plus she always loved hearing about his family. She hoped to meet them soon so that she could thank them for loving Derek as much as she did. She knew they were the reason he pushed on when life seemed hard._

_She had been thinking so much that she hadn't noticed him fall asleep on her. She could now hear faint snoring. She willed herself awake. It didn't work. She tried again and she felt close. Finally with her last attempt, the darkness fell away and her eyelids opened, at about the speed of a snail. _

_Man was it bright in this room. She instinctively closed her eyes from the light but after a moment she opened them fully. She had them closed for long enough, she could handle a little bit of light if it meant she could stare down at the beautiful man lounging on her stomach, his hand still clenched tightly to hers. That was not enough contact for her though. She needed to touch him more, make sure he was really there with her and this wasn't just another fantasy. _

_She reached down and touched his head, and waited for a moment. She didn't want to wake him just yet. He probably had not gotten much sleep this past-Wait. How long had she been unconscious for? It felt like eternity to her but she was sure it felt like longer to Derek._

_She found herself stroking his head rhythmically and smiled when she heard him let out a sigh and squeeze her hand. She could feel how tense he was through just the little bit of contact she had with him. _

_She wanted him to sleep but she couldn't help herself when she whispered hoarsely, "Derek, sweetheart, wake up, I missed you." He stirred slightly but did not wake immediately. After a moment or two, his head lifted upwards and he turned to look at her. She just smiled at him as she saw tears well up in his eyes. _


	11. Dirty

**Author Note:** The italics in the first part are Penelope's point of view. Sorry if they are hard to tell the difference between. Enjoy =]

* * *

**Chapter 11-Dirty**

"Baby Girl!" he exclaimed seeing those eyes of hers that he loved, "You're awake!" He had the largest grin on his face but he had tear streaks down his cheeks. _She loved to see his smile but did not like the tear marks on his beautiful face._

"Hi there handsome, thank you for finding me," Penelope said with a dry throat and a smile. _That was all she could manage at that moment with her parched state._

"You sure are a sight for sore eyes, Baby Girl," _Derek said with such compassion it almost broke Penelope's heart._

"No tears please. I'm here now, I'm back," she said. He then felt her fingers on his face wiping away the tears. That little bit of contact was so necessary at that moment. Derek didn't realize he was holding his breath while she touched his face.

"These are tears of bliss. Seeing you awake is absolute heaven for me. I missed you beyond measure," he said looking directly into her eyes and beaming with glee. _She could see how true it was in his eyes._

"I'm so glad it's your face I'm waking up to and not a nurses," she said with a slight chuckle. Man he loved that noise. But he also saw her face scrunch up with pain.

"You okay Baby?" Derek immediately looked concerned.

"Yes, thank you. I never thought laughing could hurt so much," she said with a slight scowl. _She did not like all this pain she was feeling all over her body. Some were dull aches while others plain hurt._

"Well then, Dr. Derek prescribes no laughing for Penelope Garcia," with that, he got a laugh out of her again. He really did love that sound but right now he didn't want it if it caused her pain. _Dr. Derek, jeez was he silly._

"Hey! I said no laughing. Let me grab Dr. Lewis quickly to make sure you are okay and maybe slightly can laugh, in moderation," he said with a smile. He then got up and walked to the door to find the doctor. _Penelope couldn't help but smile while watching him; he cared so much for her. How did she ever live without this man in her life?_

* * *

Once the doctor came in and checked her to make sure she was okay, he gave her some medicine to take the edge of the pain off. He left Penelope and Derek after he made sure she was healing properly.

"Can I borrow your cell lovebug? I think I should let the rest of the team know about my awakening."

"Hmm I have an idea," Derek said as he took his phone out and dialed Hotch's number, "Hotch, can you grab the team and bring them to the conference room? I need to tell you all something." Derek waited while he heard Hotch doing what he asked. Penelope quickly understood what Derek's idea was and remained quiet in the background.

"Okay we're all here Derek, what is it?" he could hear the slight irritation in Rossi's voice.

Derek handed his Baby Girl the cell phone but kept it on speaker, "Talk dirty to me," Penelope said with a smirk into the phone.

She could hear the gasps, "Penelope!" She couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Your Oracle of knowledge is back in commission," she said with the biggest smile.

"We're on our way," Hotch said before he hung up.

Penelope looked over at Derek with her huge smile, but she saw him kinda frown. "Aw man, I liked having you all to myself," he muttered as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I'm all yours, Hot Stuff," Penelope promised, not knowing if she should tell him she could hear him bear his soul for her while unconscious. But all she cared about at that moment was the smile that crept across his face and the adoration she saw in his eyes as she said that.

* * *

**Author Note**: I totally had to do the "talk dirty to me" part. Sorry if you don't like it, but I just had to haha.


	12. Momma

**Author Note: **I'm trying to update every other day here because I know how hard it is to wait for a new chapter for a story you follow ! I think we're only about half way through this story so hang tight. Hope you still enjoy =]

* * *

**Chapter 12-Momma**

The team came rushing into her room before she knew it. Derek had let go of her hand and walked across the room so that the others could embrace her, but she couldn't help but miss his presence next to her. She wanted him to walk back over and grab hold of her hand again and sit in **his** chair. How could she miss him when he was standing just a few feet away from her?

"There are my superheroes!" Penelope said with a smile.

JJ and Emily rushed over to her and hugged her tight. Penelope winced slightly at the wound on her side and Derek chimed in, "Careful, her side is sore."

"Thanks Dr. Derek," Emily smirked at him. At that and the memory of earlier Penelope and Derek couldn't help but laugh. The others just looked at each other and decided not to even ask. "Pen, we missed you so much!" Emily continued.

"How are you feeling?" JJ asked her sounding slightly frazzled.

"Sore but awake. And very happy to see all of your faces again. I missed you all so much. I knew you would find me," she said with a large smile.

Reid came over and scooted his way next to her and he leaned down and gave her a hug, "Thank god you're back," sounding a little choked up. That made Penelope's heart hurt.

"You have any fun, new facts for me Boy Wonder?" she asked with a smile.

"Actually I-" Reid started.

"I'm sure he has plenty that you can hear later," Rossi said as he and Hotch stepped a little closer.

"I came home Sir," Penelope winked at Hotch, at which he just smiled back at her. He rarely smiled but when he did, it made Penelope's heart swell.

Both Hotch and Rossi gave her careful hugs and smiled at the fact that she was awake and going to be back to normal again soon.

Blake was there also, kind-of waiting in the background, "I'm glad you're feeling better Penelope. But what exactly happened to you?" she asked cautiously when she saw everyone's gaze turn to her when she spoke.

Derek immediately walked back over to 'his' chair and grabbed hold of Penelope's hand. She looked down at their hands then up at him with a smile before she began, "Well I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. It was a short walk but on the way back I passed a black van. I didn't think much of it but next thing I knew there were arms around me covering my mouth..."

Penelope relived every painstaking moment that had occurred to her over the last torturous weeks. She told them about why he apparently came after her and what she remembered. She knew she had been drugged and that was why she was so groggy but she hoped she remembered enough to help the case.

The entire time she spoke Derek held her hand. She squeezed it during the hard memories and during the moments where she remembered the team. She told them that thoughts about them were the reason she was so strong.

She stopped to listen to their reactions. And suddenly, Penelope let out a huge yawn.

"Okay guys, I think our Goddess needs her rest," Derek said while starting to stand.

"Fine," the team mumbled and gave her goodbye hugs and wary squeezes.

Derek walked the team out and said his goodbyes to them before returning to Penelope's room and shutting the door, "Finally, all to myself again," he smirked at her.

"Should I be scared?" she let out a chuckle.

"No Baby Girl you're fine-" just then his phone began to ring, "It's Momma," he informed her with a smile.

"Hey Momma. What? Oh I sound better? I'm sitting next to Penelope's bed right now. Actually can you hold on a second?" he passed Penelope his phone, waving her to go on.

"Ms. Morgan? This is Derek's Baby Girl," she said with a smile and put the phone on speaker.

"Penelope! You're awake! That's why my baby boy finally sounded like the sun rose today. How are you feeling?" Fran Morgan asked enthusiastically.

"Sore but a lot better than the last time I was awake. Especially with your handsome son watching over me," she winked at him and he chuckled.

"When you're feeling better you have to come visit me with Derek. I need to meet my baby boy's Baby Girl," she said and Penelope lit up. She wanted to meet his family but she never asked him because she didn't know if that was awkward since they were only best friends.

"I'd love to ma'am," she said smiling at Derek who smiled back.

"Ma'am? What am I 80? Call me Fran," Fran then lowered her voice and said, "Or Momma," Penelope had to chuckle as a slight blush crept across her cheeks, her Hot Stuff's mom was a teaser as well.

"Momma, we'll visit as soon as we can," Derek said with a smirk. And with that they said their goodbyes.


	13. Scars

**Author Note: **This is a short chapter but it's honestly one of my favorites. Hope you like it as well !

* * *

**Chapter 13-Scars**

That first night after she awoke was the hardest night of both of their lives. He had fallen asleep in his chair, holding her hand with his head back. But in the middle of the night, he awoke to sobbing coming from the bed next to him. Penelope was just laying there sobbing, when he reached over and turned on the light, "Baby Girl, what's wrong?" concern racking through his body.

"S-sorry to wake you, Hot Stuff," he held his breath at that name, it was the first time he had heard it since she was taken. "I just realized...I'm destined to be the crazy cat lady, and I hate cats," she said forcing a smile though he could tell she didn't find it to be amusing at all.

He reached out and wiped away her tear marks, "What do you mean sweetheart?" he tried to be as tender as he possibly could, he hated seeing her like this, like a scared child.

"This is the second time a guy has been 'interested' in me and it's almost gotten me killed," she said while more tears poured out of her red eyes, "I'm giving up on finding my happily ever after."

He felt his heart nearly break at what she said. He wanted to soothe her and tell her _I love you and I want to be your happily ever after __**if**__ you only give me a chance_, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't want her to think he was just saying it to calm her down. He wanted to do it right and right now was not that moment, no matter how much it hurt him not to be able to say it now. "Now, Baby Girl, you know that you can't give up. You've just met the wrong guys so far," was all he could say at this moment, though he knew it wasn't enough to change her mind.

She stopped sobbing so hard and her tears had ceased but he could tell she was on the verge of more torrential downpour, "Well now I'm extra screwed. The next guy I'm with is going to take one look at me, one look at my 'battle wounds' and run farther away than he normally would have," she looked down at her arms and the top of her chest that was exposed and closed her eyes with a sigh.

The next sensation was almost a dream. She opened her eyes to find her Hot Stuff kissing each and every one of her cuts. He was gentle with it not wanting to cause her any pain, but it made her feel like she was almost _lucky_ to have those marks. He made her feel that everything was going to be okay again. That someday she would find a guy, half of what her best friend was, that might actually treat those scars with care and affection and not want to run away from her. She instantly had fresh tears in her eyes at the compassion Derek was showing her right now. All she could muster through her soaring heart was, "Thank you," as she reached up and cupped his cheek after he was finished. He gently turned and kissed her palm too, for good measure she was sure he would say if she asked what that was for. His eyes fluttered open and she nearly exploded with love as she stared into them and would swear she saw him giving her his heart in that moment.


	14. Quote

**Author Note: **Hope you enjoy !

* * *

**Chapter 14-Quote**

After that, the next few days were filled with laughter and smiles. They never mentioned that night again but it was in the back of both of their heads and not to mention, their hearts too. Derek wasn't bored anymore, he had Penelope to keep him busy, and he loved that. The only thing he didn't like was the fear that he sometimes saw flash across her eyes and the nightmares she would startle awake from. He would calm her down and she would fall back asleep but she never seemed to get a restful night's sleep and he didn't blame her.

He would find himself jumping awake sometimes afraid that she wouldn't be there with him anymore. He would look down at their intertwined hands and just smile. He loved falling asleep to contact with her, even in the slightest way. She would squeeze his hand when he had nightmares even if she never opened her eyes. Even in her sleep she was comforting him when he needed it. It was moments like these that convinced him that there was no other woman like this in the world, no other woman where there was so much love radiating off of her at all moments. He knew he was lucky to have her in his life, let alone have her as his best friend. He just wished he had her as everything. He wanted her to be his, officially, for the rest of his life, and he couldn't wait to make it come true.

Dr. Lewis knocked and entered smiling, "Penelope, you are incredibly strong. You are physically healing well. You're going to have pain in your side for a while and you will have a headache for a while. The wounds are slowly healing and are not yet infected. I'll give you clear instructions for how to keep them clean and overall discharge instructions. Will someone be taking care of you?"

"I will be," Derek said as if there was no question about it.

"Derek I couldn't ask that of you," Penelope said looking at him carefully. There was no way she could take away anymore of his time. He already gave up two weeks to sit in a hospital chair and she was not going to commandeer him anymore.

"Baby Girl, you aren't asking me, I'm telling you. I said this the night I found you and you were in brought here. And I quote, 'I am going to sit in this chair until I am allowed in her room, at which time I will be staying in the chair next to her bed, and then I will be living on her couch until she kicks me out,' so Baby Girl you are not getting rid of me that easily," he said giving her one of his smiles that he only gave her.

"Fine," was all she could muster back at him. And with that it was over. He would take care of her. Hopefully she would be able to do things herself soon so that he could have a life, but right now she'll allow him to take care of her for the time being. It was no use fighting him over it.

* * *

He had his arm around her waist the entire walk from the car into her apartment. He had the bag that JJ had packed for her around his body as well as the one he brought to the hospital for himself. Once inside, he brought her over to the couch and sat her down carefully before he went into her room and dropped off her bag and then put his next to the couch. "Derek, I probably have no food here. I needed to go grocery shopping before I was taken," Penelope began.

"JJ and Emily brought over food so that you wouldn't have to worry. What do you want to eat?" Derek responded with while walking closer to the kitchen.

"Oh jeez, I don't want to get Christmas cards from the firehouse here, Hot Stuff," she said teasing.

"Damn my sisters," he muttered as she smiled at him and chuckled. She found that story hilarious and loved to tease him about it. One movie night, he burned the popcorn and she took full advantage.

_"Oh no! So now the firehouses in Chicago __**and**__ here are going to know you by name?!" she exclaimed._

_"Baby Girl I swear if you bring that up again I'm going to spank you," he warned with a smirk._

_"Oh mon cher, promises promises," she let out with a sigh and they settled back into the couch with another movie._

He ended up making a pasta dish tonight. How could anyone mess up boiling water and putting pasta in it? Yet Penelope still had to tease him, "I just got out of the hospital and if your cooking sends me back there I will not be very happy with you."

"Just try it," he encouraged.

"Fine fine fine," she took a small bite, "Oh! Mmm, okay so you are now not only Hot Stuff but Dr. Derek and now Chef Derek. What else are you that I don't know my _mon cher_?"

"Someday maybe you'll find out," he teased right back at her.

* * *

After dinner they settled down and put in a movie. He really had missed this so much, her cuddling up to him as she slowly fell asleep. She jokingly had said when they sat down, "I love you, you know that right?" with a chuckle and he remembered saying those exact words to her when she had been shot. At that time, he regretted it immediately because it didn't have any of his feelings behind it. It had tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself and make it seem more than just a best friend love. He wished he could make her see how much he truly loved her. He wanted to give her the world if he could. He never wanted to see her sad or in pain ever again and he wanted her to know it.

But before he knew it she was heavily breathing next to him and he knew she was asleep. When the movie was over he carefully got up and carried her into her bedroom. She stirred slightly but quickly cuddled close to his chest. He put her down on the bed and covered her up. Luckily she was in lazy clothes from the hospital so he didn't need to worry about pajamas.

Derek went back to the couch and made himself comfortable. He slowly but surely fell asleep, feeling like everything might be okay again. Although a few hours later he awoke to someone yelling, "NO! Get away from me!" followed by loud pants.

He immediately jumped up and sprinted to her bedroom to see her thrashing around on her bed. He carefully climbed onto the bed next to her and started to smooth the top of her head, "Baby Girl, it's okay, I'm right here. You're safe, you're home, wake up Baby Girl." Abruptly, her eyes flew open and the fear that flashed across her eyes made Derek's heart break slightly. He wrapped his arms around her and she pulled him even closer. Suddenly, she began to sob into his arm. He just held her and calmed her down and ran his hands through her hair until she fell back asleep.

He tried to get up to go back to the couch but she would tighten her grip if he started to move. He had to smile at that but he felt torn. He wanted nothing more than to stay here all night long, holding her close, making sure she was okay, but on the other hand, he felt that this was wrong. He promised her he would live on her couch not in her bed. But he put his thoughts away because she wasn't giving him a choice tonight. As he felt and heard her breathing he fell asleep with a smile on his face. He could get used to cuddling this girl. He wanted to do it the rest of his life. He just didn't know how to tell her that yet.

A few hours after he had fallen asleep again, he felt her tighten around him even more. He woke up expecting her to be having another nightmare but instead he opened his eyes to see her smile in her sleep, "Oh Derek, I love you too. Don't be silly, you protect me all the time, this isn't your fault. I miss everything about you too. I woke up for you," she said in her sleep. It sounded like she was responding to what he said to her while she was unconscious. Was she able to hear everything? Was this just a dream of hers? Did she really love him the way he loved her?

Derek just kissed her head and murmured, "I love you too, Penelope." And with that verbal confession, he drifted off to sleep.


	15. Karma

**Author Note: **Enjoy ! =]

* * *

**Chapter 15-Karma**

When he awoke he had a problem, well actually a few. First was where he should go from here. Should he wait until she was less vulnerable to admit his feelings to her, or should he just take full advantage of the admission from last night? He decided to wait a little and see how she felt. He didn't want to rush her or overwhelm her. Plus he worried that she had meant she had woken up for the team, not just him. He was petrified that he would screw their friendship up by jumping the gun and pouring his soul out to her before she was ready for him to.

Second problem, was a typical guy problem. He had a smoking hot girl laying within his arms, it wasn't his fault. It didn't help that he loved this girl with his entire being. He ended up slipping away from her to take the coldest shower his body could handle.

When he re-entered the bedroom in just a pair of gym shorts, he saw Penelope sitting up in her bed, and he heard her sigh and say, "This is the second time I have woken up to that. Can we make it a more common reoccurrence?" she said with a smirk and he returned it with a chuckle.

"Hey, hey, hey behave pretty lady," Derek teased while pointing his index finger at her.

"Don't tempt me then, Hot Stuff," she purred back with a wink. He had to retrain himself at that. This was going to be hard just being her caregiver, when all he wanted was to make her his, for the rest of his life. But she wasn't ready for that yet, she had just come home finally and he needed to give her space and make her feel comfortable in this world again, not afraid of everything.

* * *

Derek was the best caretaker anyone on this planet could have; Penelope was grateful though that he was only hers. He took care of her every need and treated her like royalty, "Only the best for my princess," he had told her one night with a wink when he fluffed her pillow when she had said she was uncomfy and then thanked him for his helpfulness.

Along with him always being there, Clooney, Derek's overgrown dog was also a new resident of her apartment. She had no objections to this because she loved that dog as much as Derek did, if not more, and he made her feel even safer. It was also like they had their own little family too, which they both enjoyed.

Derek never truly left her side and she never left his sight, even when he cooked for them, he always had her laying on the couch where he could still watch her if he needed to. He had told her that her bedroom was too far away from him right now. She had to smile at that, he cared so much for her and it warmed her soul. The team would deliver groceries since Penelope wasn't well enough to walk around that much and Derek refused to leave her alone, ever. She wondered if he would ever leave, and she hoped he wouldn't.

"Derek run home it's fine," Penelope had tried once.

"No it can wait," he said and looked at her.

"Hot Stuff I swear I'll be fine," she said with a smile.

"P, I can't leave you," he said with a sigh as he closed his eyes.

"Why Derek?" she questioned sensing there was a bigger reason behind this all.

He was silent for a moment. "Because I left you before..." he said barely audible. Penelope reached out and touched his arm, urging him to continue. "The night you were found. I left the hospital for myself. I was only gone a short time, but I came so close to losing you again, just when I got you back. You needed me there for you and I left you for a stupid shower. I can't leave you again, no I really can't," he said with a solemn voice. When he finally looked at her, she was smiling a sad but understanding smile at him and opened her arms. He immediately leaned into them and carefully hugged her back.

* * *

"Does anyone know when Garcia will be ready to come back?" Rossi asked the team in the middle of the office in Kansas City. They had just finished up a case and were waiting to go home.

"I really hope soon. I miss her and it takes so much more time without her working our cases. Oh and I guess we can use Derek again," JJ said with a chuckle. Kevin was a good analyst but no one was like Penelope. She did things before they were asked of her which made the cases go by quicker. And without Derek there to tackle all of the UNSUBs and kick in all the doors, the team was physically sore from having to do that themselves.

"From her injuries she should be back soon, hopefully. It's more the mental aspect that'll take longer for her to get over," Reid informed them.

"She's strong, I think she'll be fine," Blake said.

Hotch walked towards them and said, "Wheels up in 20. Time to go home."

Over the next few weeks, both Penelope and Derek began helping the team from the apartment. Penelope would run searches and find information on her home computers and Derek would help make profiles based on what the team found. Even though they physically could not be at the sight of the cases, they were doing everything they possibly could.

* * *

She slowly started physically healing, but mentally was taking longer. She still had nightmares and fits of sobbing. Derek was there to comfort her every time and she couldn't have ever repaid him for it. She did feel bad though that he didn't have a life outside of her. He hadn't gone to work for weeks and he was pampering her instead of himself. "Derek, I feel much better, you can go back to work and go home. You know, actually have a life again," Penelope muttered, knowing that this was right yet not wanting to say it.

"Baby Girl, are you kicking me out? Because your couch and I have become good friends and I don't want to hurt its feelings," he said with a smile. It was a complete lie. That couch had murdered his back but he was not about to leave his girl.

Crap. She didn't want him to go but, "Hot Stuff I have kept you all to myself for too long. For the sake of womanhood, I think I have to share you with the world," she said although she was lying through her teeth.

"Well," _here goes nothing_ he thought, "What if I don't want to leave?" There, he said it.

"I'm fine Hot Stuff. You need not worry about me anymore," she said with a forced smile.

Derek walked over to her and took hold of her hands, "Sweetheart, I will always worry about you. It's part of my job description as Hot Stuff," he said with a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"I must have accumulated a lot of good karma to get you in my life," she said as she reached out to touch his cheek. He leaned even further into her contact, he knew he had won and would get to stay.


	16. Cuddles

**Author Note: **Hang in there please ! Within the next few chapters they will be telling each other how they feel. I know it's taken a long time but I feel like it truly would with these two. It's been 9 years and they haven't admitted them yet ! Just please hang in there, it's worth it I promise =]

* * *

**Chapter 16-Cuddles**

After the team touched back down in town after a case, Derek had called them to invite them over for dinner at Penelope's house since she was feeling much better. Derek was now in the process of prepping some chicken for the oven while Penelope was cooking some vegetables and they were both working on a tray of lasagna together. It smelt like a home and that made Penelope have a craving for this becoming a common thing. She wanted the house to come home to and the kitchen where she could cook for her family; she wanted happiness, and she was looking at the person who she knew it would only be possible with.

Derek could not contain his happiness right then. They were cooking dinner together for their team. It felt so natural to be compiling a meal together after they had a lazy day of cuddling on the couch. They both had taken a nap before so they could be ready for the gathering that was going to happen soon. He liked having her all to himself but he also wanted to show off how far she had come. Her wounds were not 100% healed yet but she should be able to go back to work soon. He had mixed feelings about that. He knew she missed it and was going a little stir crazy doing nothing every day, but he also knew that when he goes back to work he would be called out on cases and not be able to protect her fully. He didn't know if he was going to be able to be that far from her again. This closeness they had over the past few weeks was not just physically, but rather they grew even closer emotionally as well. He really didn't think that was possible, they were best friends before all of this happened, the closest he thought they could be, but he was proven wrong. They had no problems with having lazy days where they did nothing all day except sat on the couch together and he knew he would miss that incredibly once they returned to work.

A knock on the door startled them both out of their dreams of perfection. Penelope smiled at Derek and went to answer the door. JJ flew in first giving her a hug before holding her at arm's length looking her over, "Hey girl! You look so much better!"

"Yeah Derek actually must be doing a good job as care taker," Emily responded with a smirk.

"Hey! I'm a professional at it now," Derek said holding his head up high for a dramatic effect.

"Oh, my hero!" Penelope said while placing a hand on her heart and fluttering her eyes.

"Hotch, you gonna let these ladies gang up on me?" Derek asked his leader for some backup. Hotch just held his hands up and retreated towards the kitchen. The rest of the team just laughed and followed him leaving Penelope and Derek in the living room.

Penelope walked over to Derek and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "You really are my hero you know, I don't know what I would have done without you helping me through this," she said with a smile.

He just snaked his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head before responding, "I wouldn't rather be anywhere else than making sure you're okay every day of my life."

* * *

After all of their guests had finally left, Derek was cleaning up the kitchen while Penelope was lying on the couch. She was exhausted. She had helped Derek get ready for the get together and then had entertained the guests. She had tried to help clean but Derek had shooed her away. After he was done and everything was cleaned up he walked out to the living room to see her asleep on the couch. He walked over to her, seeing as how she technically was sleeping on his 'bed', and scooped her up.

Once he was back in her bedroom, he gave her a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "Night Baby Girl, get some sleep." Except when he put her down she didn't drop her hands from where they had snaked up behind his neck.

She blurted out before she could hold her tongue, "Can we cuddle tonight?" His face was unreadable but she did see a flash of something in his eyes, it kind of looked like hope? She took that as a yes so she dropped her arms and grabbed hold of his hand and led him towards her bed.

He had to control himself. She wanted to cuddle, not express her love. He had to slow his beating heart as she led him towards her bed. **_HER_** _BED_. He had spent many a night there the past few weeks, consoling her when she had a bad dream, but this time she asked before anything happened. All he was going to do was cuddle her and make sure she got some much needed sleep. She had exerted herself a lot today for the team and the get together. He was going to make sure she got a good night's sleep.

* * *

She awoke to the blob holding her from behind getting up to leave her alone in the huge bed, "Nooooo, stay," she murmured.

He just smiled down at his sleeping Baby Girl and cuddled back up to her. He hadn't wanted to leave but he knew as a best friend he should. Instead he lazily fell back asleep in his favorite spot: holding onto the love of his life.

The sun was bright when she opened her eyes. She felt so refreshed and tried to stretch, but realized there were arms surrounding her that wouldn't let her move much. She smiled at the memory of them falling asleep together all cuddled up in bed together. Nothing more than cuddles, and she was okay with that.

She felt him shift slightly, "Every time you told me you'd show me a good morning I never expected it to be like this, but I'll take this over that any day" Morgan said while he held onto Penelope like his life depended on it.

"Derek Morgan, a cuddler, who knew?" she snidely muttered.

"I'm not usually, but with you it's different. You help me sleep Momma and you're cozy," he said as he squeezed her a little.

"I'll take that as a compliment. But I have to say, I feel safer with you being my cuddle buddy at night," she said as she turned to smile at him.

"Good cause I don't really want to give that job up just yet," he said returning a smile and snuggling in closer.


	17. Perfect Date

**Author Note: **Here you go ! The first step =]

* * *

**Chapter 17-Perfect Date**

"Derek, I can finally go out and be a human being again!" Penelope said excitedly, almost jumping up and down like a little girl. She had been out with him and Clooney on short walks through the park and around the grocery store recently but never like out out.

"In that case, can I be the first guy who is lucky enough to take you out?" Derek said taking hold of her hand and kissing the back of it before he gave her a wink.

"Oh _mon cher_, what makes you think you would be that lucky?" she said teasing her Hot Stuff.

"You're right; I guess I'll just…" Derek began.

"Fine," she said knowing he was going to win all along, "Where are we going?"

"Nu-uh it' a surprise," he said mostly because he hadn't expected any of this and he had to come up with a plan still.

* * *

"Baby Girl we're going to be late," Derek said from the living room. They had reservations at a new restaurant in town in a little bit and Derek did not like cutting it close. Not to mention he was a nervous-Nancy and wanted to get going before he changed his mind and just fell asleep on the couch.

Penelope had gone through every single piece of clothing she had. She didn't know what to wear tonight. Normally she wouldn't try TOO hard for Derek but tonight she wanted to be special. She had decided she was going to lay it all out on the table; she wanted more and she wanted him to know it. So in order for the occasion she needed something special but not too outrageous.

She had almost settled on a black fitted dress that accentuated every curve she wanted to show, yet also hid everything she wanted to keep between her and the mirror. She wasn't completely sold on it though. She thought she remembered wearing this outfit one night she had gone out with the team, before any of this happened, and she wanted to wear something new that would knock him off his feet.

Next thing she heard was a whistle from the doorway, "Damn Momma, maybe we shouldn't go out and we should just stay right over there," Derek said pointing to the bed. He couldn't contain himself, she looked stunning. He had been standing there for a few moments before he retained his breath after his first glance at her, "But then again, I'd love to show you off."

Penelope almost retorted with a witty comment but then she felt defeated, he looked breathtaking and there she was, not feeling quite so good about the dress anymore. Her face dropped, "Derek, can we just stay in and watch a movie or something?"

"Baby Girl, what's wrong?" Derek said walking over to her slowly.

"Ugh, I look terrible. This whole being incapable of anything has not helped my weight and then there are these stupid scars all up and down my entire body, and just nothing is working right now," she said as she stepped out of her red heels and started towards the bathroom.

"Uh-uh sweetheart, come here," he said dragging her back in front of the mirror. "Look at yourself. I mean really look. How can you tell me that you look terrible? Penelope, you are absolutely breathtaking. You have the most beautiful skin I have ever seen, the hottest curves, legs that go on for days, the most stunning eyes, the most adorable lips, the most perfect smile, and the cutest blush that just so happens to have crept onto your face," he said as he leant down and kissed where her cheeks had flushed, "You are the most perfect package and anyone would be lucky to get to know you, let alone be with you."

"But D-" she tried to interject.

He continued to just talk as if she hadn't said anything, "And as much as I want to take back the reason for these scars, they make you, you and I am proud as hell of you and how strong you are. You don't understand how many people told me you weren't going to make it. But they don't know the Penelope I know. They didn't realize you were not one to just go quietly without being stubborn and kicking and screaming. And I wouldn't want you any other way."

She felt that her heart might just explode right out of her chest; she had never felt more loved than right at that moment. And it increased even more when she took her eyes off of the mirror and looked up into his waiting, loving gaze. She couldn't help it, she loved the man after all. She stood on her tippy toes and finally melded their lips together.

The kiss was not demanding in the least but rather a soft, much needed action of their love. It was like none other that either of them had ever had. It was so full of love for each other that it made both of their hearts swell. When they both finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers and they both just chuckled slightly. She scrunched her face up and he pulled her into an embrace. The hug was also much needed, it showed them both that this was what the other wanted to.

Penelope went and put her red heels back on as he held her hand so she wouldn't fall. For once in her life she was speechless, and he was too. But it wasn't an awkward silence but rather a perfectly quiet moment. They both kept looking at each other and just smiling before they turned away and giggled lightly again. Before they left the house for dinner, he put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her into him, and kissed the top of her head, "Penelope Garcia, in case you haven't yet realized, you are the polar opposite of looking terrible ever, let alone tonight."


	18. Retail Therapy

**Author Note: **I had to put a little silly chapter in. Hope you like it =]

* * *

**Chapter 18-Retail Therapy**

Last night could not have gone better. Dinner was perfect because it wasn't awkward in the slightest, they just acted like they normally do, except they were both radiating even more than usual with love and happiness. They had talked casually the whole time; figuring public wasn't the best place to do any serious talking.

They even stopped and grabbed some ice cream on their way home. They grabbed their cones and went for a walk in the park. They sat on a bench and she couldn't help herself; she dipped her finger in her ice cream and wiped it on his nose. His mouth dropped as she started to back away from him while giggling, "Oh no you don't, get back over here Baby Girl."

"Get away from me Cold Stuff!" she said laughing hysterically while he chased her around. He ended up catching her from the side, his arms wrapping around her, and he leaned over and wiped his wet nose on her cheek, "Even now?" she said turning in his arms.

"Yeah I believe we are," he said as he leaned down towards her lips. But right before they touched he moved over and licked the ice cream off her cheek as she giggled.

Once he was done tickling her cheek with his stubble, she reached up and licked his nose clean, "This is a fun way to clean up," she said as she nibbled on his nose.

"Hey hey, keep it clean then," he said pulling back and smirking at her. They then walked off, their arms wrapped around each other's backs.

* * *

"Can we go out to lunch and go shopping tomorrow?" JJ asked Penelope the next day when the team was visiting her.

"Oh I so totally need some retail therapy!" Garcia excitedly responded.

"I haven't been away from you since that first night in the hospital…" Derek murmured.

"What are you going to do when we're away on cases?" Rossi said with an elbow to Derek's arm.

"Can you come with us?" he said towards Garcia with a hopeful smile at his new idea.

"No way! After Alaska I am staying in my lair surrounded by my babies doing everything in my power to make sure you guys rid the world of evil while staying safe yourselves," she replied with a sharp single nod of her head and a smile on her face.

Derek looked so distraught. He wanted her to be near him always but he knew that was ridiculous with this job. He didn't know how he was going to stand being away from her, but he knew he had no choice.

* * *

After the team left that night Morgan and Garcia cleaned up the apartment and both plopped down on the couch. Morgan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, "I missed being this close to you all day."

"We've been in the same room basically the entire day Hot Stuff," Penelope said with an eyebrow raise.

"I know but this is different. I like having you in my arms, not across the room from me," he said with a squeeze. She just smiled and leaned closer to him, she couldn't agree more.

"And I still don't like the idea of not being with you tomorrow. I'm going to miss you _all_ day long," he said with a sigh.

"Don't worry my lovebug, I'll be coming home to you," she said as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. He was elated and smiled so brightly. He had never heard a better sentence spoken in his entire life. He never wanted that to change, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that was an everyday occurrence.

* * *

The next day the girls did not hold back. They went in more stores than they could keep track of and spent more money than they should of. They finally took a break to sit down and eat some lunch.

"I never thought Derek could be more protective over you, but he proved me wrong last night," Emily said to Garcia with a chuckle.

"Well uh, we sorta kissed…" Garcia said bashfully.

"What?! When and how?!" JJ and Emily both exclaimed.

"The other night, we went on a date. He said he wanted to be the 'first lucky guy' to take me out. And it happened before we left," she looked up at her friends who were enthralled with the story, "I was trying to find something to wear, and failing at it, and I just looked terrible in everything. He came in and basically told me I always look like a goddess and that he's so proud of me for everything I have survived and such. When he was done I looked into his eyes, which were so serious and so full of love that I just couldn't help myself…"

"_You_ kissed _him_?!" Emily questioned. She now had even more respect for Penelope.

"Yeah but he quickly kissed me right back. And then when we were leaving for dinner he told me that I never look terrible but especially not that night. And we went on our merry way," she said with a smile as her friends just sat there wide eyed and smiling themselves.


	19. All Yours

**Author Note: **I promise the wait is worth it ! We're getting there ! THEY'RE getting there !

* * *

**Chapter 19-All Yours**

A few days later Penelope was preparing herself to go back to work; and Derek was trying to distract her any way he could, "Baby Girl let's go for a walk."

"Derek, you know I need to get everything situated for Monday," she said as she flew by with her bag.

"But Monday is days away. Right now we should do something else," he tried again. He really hated thinking about both of them going back. He wanted to stay in this bubble that they created in her apartment. He also knew that he couldn't get away with living there anymore if she was healthy enough to work again. But he got so used to being around her all day every day that he wasn't sure he ever wanted to go back to his apartment, even to pack it up.

"I'll tell you what, if you let me get all ready right now, I will be all yours this weekend," she proposed. When she didn't hear him respond she turned to look at him and saw him smile and nod excitedly.

He was okay with that proposition. He walked over and kissed her cheek before he left to go fix them some lunch, and to come up with a plan. He had one weekend to make all of his dreams come true. He needed this weekend to show Penelope what he really thought of her. He wasn't going to leave for work without making sure she knew how much he loved her and would do for her. And hopefully all of his worries would go away once he let it all out.

* * *

He fixed them each a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato soup: easy yet satisfying. Once it was all cooked he brought her plate into her room so she didn't have to stop getting ready. She smiled at this gesture; he really wanted her to be his for this weekend without thinking about Monday. Deep down she hated the thought of going back for most likely the same reasons he did: she loved this world they created together, she didn't want to him to move out of her place, she didn't want him to go away on cases and potentially get injured, she wanted him all to herself and not anyone else, she wanted to be together every second of everyday, and so on. So she decided to make sure this weekend would be different. She was going to admit everything to him, make sure he realized just how she felt about their 'friendship' and how much she wanted that to become more.

A few hours after they had made the deal she was done. She probably had more to do to get ready but she couldn't stop thinking about the rest of the weekend and how it was going to go. She thought he felt the same, that this friendship was not enough anymore, that after she was taken they just couldn't risk putting the inevitable off anymore just in case something else happened. She wanted him and she wanted forever, and she was damn well going to get it.

She walked out and plopped down next to him on the couch, "I give up, I am all yours finally," she said hoping he would take the bait.

He swallowed at her statement and he hoped she meant it forever, "Honey, you've always been mine," he said with a wink.

She blushed immediately, knowing he spoke the truth, "So what's on the schedule for tonight my Chocolate Thunder?"

"I was thinking we go get you some vegan pad Thai, and then maybe go for a moonlit stroll?" he spent all day going back and forth whether to take her out to dinner or if they should stay in and cook and decided on getting her favorite food of all time.

"Are you trying to butter me up _Agent Morgan_?" she said with a slight leer.

"Is it working?" he retaliated with. He could tell it was and he couldn't help but smile.

_Of course it worked,_ "I'm going to go get ready." She said as she stood and sauntered away from him.

Damn, he was really going to do this. It was time, it was totally time. Penelope was not just his best friend but rather the reason he was able to do his job. She was the reason he was able to go on with his days when his past ones were so dim. She was his heart and he intended on making her realize that.


	20. Stars

**Author Note: **Drum roll please...

* * *

**Chapter 20-Stars**

Even though they weren't going anywhere fancy, Penelope put on one of her favorite new dresses from her shopping spree with the girls. She wanted his jaw to reach the floor so that she could pick it right up again.

And it worked. She stepped out of her room, "Hey there handsome," she said to the back of Morgan. He turned around and his eyes widened as his mouth opened. "Oh, stop catching flies and let's go." She said as she walked past him towards the door.

She didn't make it far before he pulled her into him and nuzzled his face in her curls, "Beautiful as always. Is there ever a moment where you won't take my breath away?" Her own breath caught in her throat at his admission, how often did this happen?

* * *

After they were both completely full, they walked towards the park. He began to get super nervous and worried. What if she didn't want anything more than a friendship? She was acting like she did but he wasn't sure. They had always teased each other so it was hard to determine her intentions. But he had made up his mind the moment he first entered her apartment after she was taken. He wasn't going to give her up, ever. She would always be first in his mind; there would never be anyone else he met that could affect him like she did. He was smitten and was not going to let her get away. He was done waiting around; he wanted to be everything for her just like she was for him.

After a while of just walking around, hand in hand, he found the perfect spot for his next move. It was right next to the lake and far enough into the park that there weren't many people around. He suddenly stopped and pulled her in front of him. He put his hands on her shoulders and just looked into her eyes before she smiled up at him, forcing him to smile right back.

He then went for it; everything in his body told him it was the perfect moment. He leaned down and merged their lips together. It started off as a gentle, loving kiss, but soon the passion he felt for her overtook that soft need, he pulled back slightly and whispered, "Perfect, just like everything else about you," and with that he leaned back down. He kissed her then with a soft intensity that made her head spin. She felt such love in this kiss and she knew then that he wanted everything that she wanted. He wanted her for the rest of eternity and she was willing to give him longer if possible. This kiss was a promise of all of that and then some.

Soon the need to breathe pulled them both back slightly, enough for them both to smile against each other's lips. When their lips came apart, he pulled her into a much needed embrace, and kissed her forehead.

She wanted so much more at that moment, so she decided to slightly diffuse the overwhelming need. She pulled out of his arms and said, "Bet you can't catch me!" as she took off into the grass.

She could hear his chuckle before he said, "Baby Girl, get back here," as he jogged after her. He soon caught up with her though because she became entranced by the sky. Tonight the stars looked even more spectacular than normal; maybe her parents were shining even brighter because she finally figured everything in her life out, she finally was going to have her dreams come true. She smiled and collapsed down into the grass as she saw her hero coming closer and lying down next to her, "Caught you! What do I get as a prize?"

"You're looking at it Hot Stuff," she said with a smirk as she continued to gaze at the sky. She could sense his intense stare on her but she was focused, "It's breathtaking; makes me feel so small in the world." She thought he would agree with her that the sky was amazing but he remained silent. She wondered if she had overstepped the friendship boundary too quickly, but the memory of that kiss was burned into her and she knew that wasn't the case, "What's going on in that gorgeous head of yours, my love?" she rolled onto her side to look back at him with a smile.

_It was now or never._ "Baby Girl, the sky has nothing on you. In fact, nothing in this universe has anything close to compare to you. You are perfection in every way and I don't think you see that. But I am going to spend every day for the rest of my life making sure you know that. Penelope, you make the world such a bright place, you make my world have light in it even when it seems so dark. Anytime I feel despair you know before I even admit it to myself and you help me through it every time. You keep me protected from the horrors of this job and the horrors of my past. You make me forget that there is evil in this world because there is not an evil atom in your body. You are the best part of my life and I thank God every single day that he brought you to me. I never believed I deserved love after I was so tainted in my youth, and yet you are here. My soulmate is lying right next to me, making my life amazing. There is nothing about you that I don't love; every single part of you is my favorite. I never thought I would settle down but you make that thought a reality. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I just want you to know that I have fallen head over heels and every other corny cliché in love with you Penelope Garcia. You are my entire world and I want you to know that you have my heart in your hands," he willed himself to look into her eyes the entire time he was speaking. He would be damned if he was going to let her think that he didn't mean a word that he was saying.

All while he was talking, he watched her eyes. He saw multiple emotions flash across them: startled, shocked, understanding, loving, and finally settling on elatedness.

After she was positive he was done handing his heart to her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to meet his. She could feel the smile that emerged on his face as he wrapped his arms around her as well. She felt at home in his arms, she never wanted to be apart from this man; she never wanted to leave the comfort she felt with him.

When she pulled back she knew she had to confirm her feelings too, even though she thought the kiss might've done the trick, "Derek, you have been the person I turn to when the entire world seems dark. You have always been more than a best friend to me; you are the person that makes everything better in my life. You are also the only reason **I** can handle the horrors of the job we do, the horrors we see every single day. You have always been my protector of not only my physical self, but of my heart. You have held my heart for many years and kept it out of any harm's way. You are without a doubt the person I believe is my soulmate and the only person on this planet that deserves any of my heart. Hot Stuff, in case you had no clue all of these years, I am completely in love with you and don't think anything can keep those feelings away, not that I've really tried though. Lucky for me, the Chocolate God that this Goddess fell in love with, apparently is just as smitten," she added with a smirky smile.

* * *

**Author Note:** Ta-da ! Finally =]


	21. Work

**Author Note: **I'm glad it was worth the wait ! This story only has a few more chapters left but stick with me =]

* * *

**Chapter 21-Work**

She knew this day would come; that the best weekend of her life would be over and she would be heading back to the office. It was bittersweet, she missed it incredibly but also enjoyed the perfect days of just hanging with her love. She knew that this would also be the end of him basically living at her house.

Even after their love admittance they decided they didn't want to rush anything. Of course cuddles were an absolute must for them both but that was all he would allow for now. He didn't want to make her think she was a conquest; he wanted her to know she was completely different from any other girl he had ever even looked at. He cared about her too much to rush into anything, even if she knew exactly how to taunt him, especially that first night ...

_He was laying in bed waiting for her to get out of the shower so they could finally fall asleep together, holding onto each other both physically and in their dreams. He was flipping through the channels when the door opened, and as he lifted his head to smile at her his mouth dropped open and his eyes popped slightly out of his head. _

_Out she walked wearing _**only** his_ oversized dress shirt that he had taken off after their date before his own shower. "You catching flies again, Hot Stuff?" she smirked knowing exactly why he looked so taken aback. _

_He tried to bring his eyes back into his head and tried to shut his mouth but she just looked so damn beautiful in his clothes. He wanted to go into her closet and throw out everything of hers and replace it with his clothing, just for her to wear. _

_"Sorry I forgot to bring a towel in with me and it was this or back into my dress, and this just sounded much more comfortable," she cooed as she wrapped her arms around herself and heard him gasp. She could tell he was losing some of the control he had fought hard to have, but she wasn't going to push it, just like he didn't want to push her into anything, neither did she, "Alright fine, let me grab pajamas and then I think I deserve at least some cuddles from my boyfriend," she all but squealed, __**the **__Derek Morgan was her boyfriend! She must have had some good karma in her life in order to make all of her dreams come true finally._

_When she next emerged from the bathroom in her matching pajama set he let out a slight chuckle. "I know, these are pretty sexy clothes huh?" she teased._

_"Angel, you look stunning in anything and these just prove that even more," he said as he patted the spot in bed next to him. She laid down and the curve of her body fit perfectly into the curve of his. Just more evidence that this was the missing puzzle piece from his life. He kissed her forehead and said, "And Baby Girl, I think you were trying to kill me before."_

_"Hey, just because you, my handsome, are now officially mine, does not mean that the teasing stops. It just means that whatever we say can now be acted upon," she smirked._

_He let out another little chuckle before he murmured, "Goodnight my love."_

_She smiled against him, "Goodnight my heart." And they fell asleep perfectly in each other's arms._

This was it. After work today he would be going back to a place that he didn't feel was home anymore. He wished this day would never come. He never wanted to part from her but he needed to if he was going to keep the control he needed to take things slow. They drove separately to the office but not before getting in many kisses over a perfect breakfast made together. Their morning goodbye was as if he was leaving on a case, and not just driving separately to the exact same place.

As she exited the elevator, she felt like she never left. When she reached her door, she touched it softly before opening it up and tearing up. Inside her desk was filled with gifts galore. There was a vase full of the most colorful flowers she had ever seen, a stuffed teddy panda holding a bag of chocolate kisses, a picture frame filled of her and the love of her life, a cup of coffee that she knew would be perfect, and a full bowl of all of her favorite candies (mostly mini Twizzlers). In the middle of it all she saw a note written in **his **handwriting; it simply read: _Welcome back, My Love_.

He was hoping he had covered all of the bases, flowers for her to smell, a teddy panda because a bear was too common but he wanted her to have something to hug if he got called away on a case, a picture of the two of them for her to always refer to if needed, and candy galore in case she needed something to chew on. He knew he wanted to make sure she felt welcome when she returned back to her lair after such an absence.

* * *

"Hey Pen, can you come to the conference room?" JJ asked when she peaked her head into Garcia's office.

Penelope's breath hitched thinking that they got a case and she would truly be without Derek even more so than before. "Be right there my lovely," she muttered back at JJ.

A few moments later she walked into the conference room to hear a giant "Welcome back!" as she saw her team, her family, through her tear filled eyes.

They had decked the entire room out with a giant banner saying _We missed you Oracle!_ and decorations in about every color possible all over the room.

"We thought we should have a good memory from this room after all of the bad ones from our case consultations," JJ stepped towards her to give her a hug.

Reid was next to step forward to capture her in his arms, "It just wasn't the same without you Pen." Penelope felt so touched by her little brother.

Blake walked towards Penelope and gave her a hug, "Welcome back Penelope, we sure missed you here."

"Kitten, you have no idea how much harder it is to work these cases without your sunshine keeping us above the water," Rossi informed her as he too hugged her.

Hotch was the next to come up to her, "Things just are so much better with you here," as he smiled at her. She reached out and had to hug her boss at his words.

Derek was the last to come up to her and he stalked right towards her and wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, "Baby Girl, you are never allowed to do anything like that to me ever again. I love you too much for that," and with that he gave her a kiss and he could feel the smile on her face. They hadn't discussed when they should tell the team but right now seemed to be a great time.

When he released her, she glanced around the room and cried out, "I have the best family in the world! Thank you all for saving my life and for keeping me sane on my first day back."


	22. God and Goddess

**Author Note: **I have to say thank you to all the followers =] I never really expected this to take off like this but I'm very glad you all seem to like it. Onward we go !

* * *

**Chapter 22-God and Goddess**

The bliss that they had given her lasted a few hours before she heard the one thing she had been dreading.

"Baby Girl, we have a case..." she didn't hear anything after he said those words to her and she couldn't respond to the man standing in her doorway because there was a lump in her throat.

He came up and pulled her up out of her chair after seeing how broken she looked; he hated seeing her even the tiniest bit upset.

"I know sweetheart, I hate this as much as you do. I'm hoping it'll be quick so I can get back to the best thing in my life. I want you to keep Clooney with you. So you have a part of me with you and you feel safe. Plus, I think he's not ready to leave your apartment yet," he said while holding her close to him the whole time; _Clooney wasn't the only one not ready to leave_ he thought.

"Be safe Derek, please," she choked out as he squeezed her a little tighter.

"With you to come back to, I have no choice but to be safe," he said as he kissed the top of her head. He held onto her for as long as he could before he had to leave for the airport. Before he left he handed her a small wrapped present, "I'm always with you My Love, remember that." He kissed her once more before he left.

She felt so loved when she opened up the gift. Inside was a beautiful silver heart necklace that was engraved on one side with _My Baby Girl_ and the other side said _For Eternity_.

* * *

She thought her first night without Derek would be terrible, but this was unbearable. She even ended up looking up flight schedules into Portland, and almost booked one before she realized that was a little unreasonable. All she wanted was him to be next to her so that she could get some sleep. Even though she was exhausted, mentally and physically, she just couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. Anytime she closed her eyes she would hear a noise and wake right back up. The one time sleep actually did overtake her, she woke up screaming about what had happened to her in a nightmare. She glanced at the clock, it read 2:46 AM and she knew he would be asleep, or at least trying to sleep himself, yet she couldn't help it, she reached for the phone.

"I miss you too Baby Girl," he answered, knowing exactly why she called. He, too, could not sleep no matter what he tried. He had been laying in his bed counting down the hours until he had to wake up and try to catch this sick bastard.

"I need a hug," was all she could muster without the tears falling down. She didn't expect to miss him this much or be this distraught over a nightmare without him to soothe her.

He could sense that this wasn't a phone call just because she couldn't sleep, "What's wrong?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"I had a nightmare Hot Stuff, and I just miss you next to me," she muttered and grabbed her Panda that she had put a shirt on that read _Hot Stuff #2_.

"Do you have your Panda and Clooney with you?" he waited until he heard her make a sound meaning that she did, "Snuggle into your bed, close your eyes, hug your Panda and I'm going to tell you a bedtime story, My Love." He waited a few moments before he began...

"Once upon a time there was this beautiful Goddess. She wasn't like most though; she wore the brightest colored wraps that she could find, and she wanted to help everyone she came across. One lucky day, a God made of Chocolate had the privilege to meet this Goddess. He soon became her right hand man; they did everything together and couldn't be happier. Many other Gods and Goddesses came into their lives and tried to make these two fall for them but it was no use, they had fallen for each other long ago. Sadly many others also tried to take these two away from the other, also without any success; they would always come back to each other no matter what. One day, after a particular attack, their feelings became too much and their love exploded between them. Everything after that day was perfect, because they had each other, in a closer way than they ever expected to have. So far they are living a happy life, but their story isn't over just yet."

He could hear her yawn and smiled while saying, "Goodnight my Goddess. Please get some sleep. I love you."

She had the biggest smile on her half asleep face with slight teary eyes, as she responded with, "Thank you Derek. I love you too, oh Chocolate God of mine, and I wish you were here, get some sleep as well."

He smiled as he heard the click. Just hearing her voice had settled him. He couldn't fall right to sleep, but then again he always had sleeping issues. He just forgot about them when he was near Penelope. He settled into his hotel bed and laid there thinking about her before he fell asleep with a smile on his face, after making his decision.


	23. Appointment

**Author Note: **There's only one more chapter left after this and it's only a couple hundred words so it'll be up tomorrow =]

* * *

**Chapter 23-Appointment**

Derek awoke with a smile on his face. Today he had an appointment at noon to start the rest of his life. It had been a week since he had talked down her nightmare and a week since he had technically moved out of her house. They had solved the case in just two days and he had since been trying to keep busy so that he didn't think about his abode that didn't feel like a home anymore. Penelope needed to be there for it to be considered a home for him. That's why he made this appointment the day after her nightmare. He had gotten up early to begin his research and this one just spoke to him through the computer, so he called and set up the appointment. He got out of bed with a skip in his step as he began getting ready for his day.

Across town, Penelope awoke from another bad night of sleep. She missed her newfound family and couldn't stand being home without them. She needed her Derek and Clooney back with her, but she knew she couldn't ask that of him. She knew he had given up plenty of his time to be with her while she was recovering but now she had no excuse other than her apartment feeling lonely without them here. She would just be strong and hope she would fall back into a rhythm of life without constant Derek time. She got up and grudgingly got ready for her day.

As he pulled up he knew it was perfect immediately. The listing did nothing in comparison to the feeling he got when he looked up at the house. The real estate woman walked out of the house and went to shake Derek's hand. She led him into his future home. The only problem with this house was the fact that it didn't have the uniqueness that was the essence of Penelope, but Derek would be changing that anytime he was not away on a case. He vowed to make this home so perfect that Penelope could not refuse his proposition.

* * *

Over the next few months any moment Derek was in town and not with Penelope he would be working to make this house perfect. He knew it was impulsive of him to just buy a house without even knowing if she was ready to move in together, but he just couldn't wait any longer, he knew that he needed to be around her at all moments of each day.

Derek wanted to start fresh with this new house. He arranged to get basically all new furniture except for the few pieces that held sentimental value for either of them. He made sure to paint some of the walls outrageous colors just because he knew she would smile and he craved that smile all the time. He enlisted JJ and Emily to help him get some of the pictures Penelope held so dear out of her house and lair so that he could make copies for their new house. He also went shopping for trinkets that just reminded him of her, fuzzy pens, crazy clips, etc.; if he saw it and thought of her, he bought it for the house. He also had kept everything they had ever bought together and he made sure those ended up in their house. He wanted this to be perfect, because his Angel deserved nothing less than a heavenly house.

He managed to get her out of her house the day before the rest of his life. He invited her over to his house for a movie night and she ended up spending the night, much to his liking. He arranged with JJ to help get some of her things out of her apartment and into the new house. JJ was his confidant throughout this whole ordeal and he wanted to make sure she knew how thankful he was for that. She just kept saying to keep Penelope happy and that was more than enough payback in her mind. She just wanted her best friend to be as happy as she deserved to be.


	24. Rest of Life

**Author Note: **I know this chapter is barely even a chapter but I felt like it was a good place to end this story. I was going to continue on and get them to like a marriage standpoint but I just felt like this was the end, and so here it is.

* * *

**Chapter 24-Rest of Life**

Derek had to try extremely hard to hide his excitedness and his nervousness. He knew she would love it but was worried she would be put off by his haste decisions. He pulled up to his newest owned property and led Penelope up to the door, "I wanted to show you my latest project Baby Girl," he announced with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face.

She walked in the door and stopped immediately. The first thing she saw was a beautiful living room to her left and a spacious kitchen on her right. But the rooms weren't what caught her eye; rather she was focused on the same things scattered throughout the house: the pictures of them and the team, the trinkets they had collected over the years, and all of the little items that represented their lives.

Derek turned to her to see her mouth hanging open and tears in her eyes. He took hold of her hands and turned her towards him, "Baby Girl, can we start the rest of our lives right now? In this new house? Together?"

She stared at him as a smile grew on her face. She nodded enthusiastically and threw her arms around him giving him a kiss.

He picked her up and spun her around. Once he pulled away from the kiss he rested his forehead against hers and said, "Thank God. Now let me show you the rest of **our** house."

**END**

* * *

**Author Note: **Thank you all for the support during my first fanfiction ! =] I hope you enjoyed it. I am in the process of writing a few other stories but I don't like to post them until I have a clear storyline, because the thing I hate most is when a story does not get finished. Hopefully my muse will come back and help me finish those so I can begin to post them soon. Again thank you all =]


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